Most businesses have recognized the substantial benefits gained by operating in a networked computing environment. By establishing local area networks (LAN), businesses allow their employees to share network resources, such as printers, file servers, modem banks, e-mail servers, etc., while maintaining the distributed computing power of having a plurality of individual work station computers. Indeed, the benefits of networked computing are now available for home computing environments as more and more households begin having more than one computer. Now, as with at the office, network resources (e.g., a printer) may be shared among the members of the household.
Unfortunately, despite all the benefits that the networks provide, their hardwired architecture presents several problems that tend to limit the users ability to compute in a flexible manner. For example, many networked computer users are now provided the flexibility to take their computers with them wherever they go by utilizing laptop and notebook sized computers. Unfortunately, however, the physical wired architecture often does not accommodate multiple users in a particular location (e.g., in a meeting room) due to the limit of network connection port outlets that are physically installed at that particular location. Therefore, while a user has the theoretical ability to connect to the network from any location wherein a network port outlet is provided, the physical realities of the wiring installation often limit this. Additionally, even if a sufficient number of outlet ports were provided, the requirement for each user to carry around network cabling of lengths sufficient to couple to a network outlet is undesirable from a user standpoint. Likewise, the cost and difficulty of installing network cabling within a household to provide connectivity for each room of the house often limits the actual cable installed to only those fixed locations where computers and network resources are currently located. Therefore, such hardwired systems essentially preclude the mobile computing that has been enabled by the portable computing devices currently on the market.
In recognition of the significant limitations that a wired LAN architecture places on the mobility and flexibility of modern computing, many industry leaders have developed and are now implementing wireless networks. These wireless networks allow for substantially increased flexibility by enabling truly nomadic computing from any location within the business enterprise covered by the wireless LAN. No longer do users need to carry network connection cables and restrict themselves to computing only in physical locations where network connection outlets are provided. This wireless networking technology also has significant advantages for the home computer user who may now have full home network accessibility from any location within the house that is convenient.
Recognizing the tremendous benefits provided by wireless networking, their deployment in airports, hotels, schools, etc., is becoming much more widespread. Further, with the increasing popularity of handheld computing devices, the deployment of such wireless networks in shopping malls, grocery stores, is envisioned. Further, wireless wide area network computing having coverage areas similar to that currently in widespread use for wireless telephone systems enable true nomadic computing regardless of a user's physical location. In this way, nomadic computer users are able to access their network resources and remain productive while waiting on a plane, commuting on a train, etc.
Recognizing that compatibility among the various network service providers who may deploy these wireless networks is of paramount importance to ensure the continued growth and acceptance of such technology, various industry standards have been developed. One such standard developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is designated by IEEE 802.11. Under this wireless standard, nomadic computer users may form their own network in an ad hoc mode, or may connect to an established network in an infrastructure mode. In the ad hoc mode, there is no structure to the network, and each member is typically able to communicate with every other member. These ad hoc networks may be formed whenever a group of users wish to communicate among themselves to share information such as during a meeting. An example of such an ad hoc formed network under IEEE 802.11 is illustrated in FIG. 2. As may be seen from this simplified Figure, multiple users 200, 202, 204 communicate with one another in their own loosely formed network, all without the requirement of being coupled together by hard wires.
The second type of network structure of IEEE 802.11 is known as an infrastructure network and is illustrated in simplified form in FIG. 3. As may be seen, this architecture utilizes at least one fixed network access point (AP) 206 through which a mobile computer user 208 can communicate with the network members 210, 212, 214 and resources 216, 218, 220. These network access points 206 may be connected to hardwired land lines to broaden the wireless network's capability by bridging these wireless nodes to other wired nodes on the established network 222.
Unfortunately, despite the significant advantages and flexibility that wireless networking brings to the computing environment, once a user has actually become coupled to the wireless network, the current user experience in configuring and connecting to such a wireless network is still quite complex and input intensive. Specifically, once a nomadic computer user enters a wireless network coverage area, the user is required to open a user interface (UI) and select the connection method under 802.11. At work, the nomadic computer user will typically select the infrastructure mode to connect to the corporate LAN. In addition to selecting the type of mode in which to operate, the user must also input the name of the network to which it is to connect. While such an entry is a simple matter when the corporate network name is known, when traveling and in an airport, hotel, etc., the user may not know the network name established therein. Further, it is foreseeable that public places such as airports may well have multiple network service providers available for connection, which further complicates the name selection to allow a user to connect to that particular wireless network. Further, there may be a myriad of other parameters which the user must manually configure to allow full connectivity to the wireless network based upon that user's application and data rate requirements.
Further detracting from the user experience is the requirement of current wireless networks and mobile computing devices that force a user to manually reconfigure the network settings when transferring between networks. For example, a user who accesses a wireless network at work and at home must upon each transition from work to home and back manually reconfigure his wireless network configuration settings before being able to transition from one wireless network to the other. Further, if the user has the wireless network set to infrastructure mode in his home and a problem occurs with one of the machines on the network that includes the functionality of an access point, the user will be forced to manually reconfigure all of the other machines in his house to enable networking in an ad hoc mode. This constant requirement that the user manually reconfigure the wireless network settings and configuration severely limits the promise of true nomadic computing enabled by the underlying wireless network technology.